Democrats demanded Thursday, April 12, that state elections officials disqualify a half-dozen Republicans running as fake Democrats in this spring's recall primary elections, saying the candidates lied about their party affiliation.

The Democrats' attorney, Jeremy Levinson, filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Board alleging that the state GOP has openly acknowledged the candidates aren't Democrats, but the candidates falsely claimed they were in papers filed with the board and on their nomination papers.

Levinson accused the candidates of committing election fraud. He called for the board to keep them off the ballot and open an investigation.

"The fraudulent candidates and the Republican Party of Wisconsin have explicitly acknowledged that, in fact, these fraudulent primary candidates are part of an effort to manipulate the electoral process in support of Republican incumbents facing recall," Levinson wrote.

State Republican Party spokesman Ben Sparks called the complaint a publicity stunt. He noted the accountability board knew Republicans used fake Democratic candidates in state Senate recall elections and still put them on the ballot.

"We're confident that each of the candidates will appear on the...ballot," Sparks said in a statement.

Accountability board spokesman Reid Magney said the board would address the complaint during a meeting Tuesday to set the ballots.

Democrats have forced Republican Gov. Scott Walker, Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and four GOP state senators into recall elections as punishment for passing a law last year that stripped most public workers of nearly all their union rights. The accountability board has scheduled elections for May 8 and June 5. If any primaries are necessary, they'll be held on May 8. Sparks said earlier this month the party would run what he called "recall protest candidates" to ensure a Democratic primary takes place in every race on May 8. The move would guarantee no Republican incumbents face a general election that day, when Democrats likely will turn out en masse to decide between four Democrats vying to challenge Walker. It also would give the incumbents another month to campaign.

Levinson alleged the candidates filed with the accountability board campaign registration statements and sworn candidacy declarations stating they're affiliated with the Democratic Party. They also circulated nomination papers stating they represented the party, he added.

Falsifying nomination papers disenfranchised Democratic supporters, Levinson said. Since people can sign only one candidate's nomination paper per office, anyone who signed a fake Democrat's papers lost an opportunity to nominate a legitimate Democrat, he argued.

"The Republican Party of Wisconsin's scheme," Levinson wrote, "involves serial election fraud and invalidates each of the six phony candidacies."

In another article, that I can’t find right now, an Election Official said the GOP’s candidates will more than likely stay on the ballot. You can’t keep someone from running because of their “past” Party affiliation.

YEEEEEEHAW!

3
posted on 04/14/2012 9:37:55 AM PDT
by no dems
(TED CRUZ: A PROVEN CONSERVATIVE FOR U.S. SENATE FROM TEXAS.)

Gee....what’s the problem? The RAT party has been sending their people to run as Republicans for years. Just look at the examples. Snowe. Collins. Graham. McCain. McConnell. Murkowski. Romney. And more.

6
posted on 04/14/2012 9:47:29 AM PDT
by Howie66
(I can see November (2012) from my house.)

Remember, it was the Democrats in Palm Beach County that were so dumb they couldn’t find their Presidential candidate on the ballot. And when they did they were too retarded to punch the chad properly.

Har har har har

I wouldn’t be too surprised to learn that all that is required to get benefits for being handicapped [mentally] is a voter registration card with (D) on it.

I thought this came up last year and it was pointed out that recall primaries are NOT partisan primaries?

After all, a non-partisan primary is really the only thing that makes sense for a proper recall. Recalls are not meant to be a “do-over” when the losing party is upset that they lost, but rather a mechanism to get rid of an elected official who is doing something wrong, often (but not necessarily) criminal. It makes no sense to limit the voters to the party they rejected last time, or a “wrong doer” incumbent.

I’m pretty sure that’s why most states run their recalls the other way around — vote on whether or not the incumbent should be removed, then you decide on who will replace.

I thought this came up last year and it was pointed out that recall primaries are NOT partisan primaries?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Great point. Thanks.

20
posted on 04/14/2012 12:39:54 PM PDT
by no dems
(TED CRUZ: A PROVEN CONSERVATIVE FOR U.S. SENATE FROM TEXAS.)

It’s an absurd complaint, because anybody can join any political party they want. If republicans want to try to make the democratic party conservative, by running for office as democrats, nothing can stop them.

The democratic party is free to run ads claiming that these candidates don’t meet their standards. But lets face it, if we could kick people out of elections because they weren’t in tune with the party, we wouldn’t have to have primaries.

The recall election process actually has a severe flaw — the opposition party gets to run a primary to pick a candidate, but the party of the person in power doesn’t — they are stuck with the candidate in office already. So there’s no way a court would deny other republicans the right to try to run for the office.

If you play by the rules, but the other side doesn’t, than you just might be stupid. If there isn’t accountability and they do whatever they want, than essentially there are no rules. Either the rules apply to both sides, or no sides.

34
posted on 04/14/2012 6:08:05 PM PDT
by Bellflower
(The LORD is Holy, separated from all sin, perfect, righteous, high and lifted up.)

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